Fueling and Feeding Your Body

Are you giving your body the right kind of gas? Okay, now that I have your full attention, it’s not the kind of gas you may be imagining.

I thought this re-post might be worth sharing again especially since I've taken on a new challenge. And depending on what's happening with your life right now, it's a good reminder about the importance of valuing YOU.

My tank was on empty recently, and I pulled in to my local gas station. Since it now takes about 10 minutes and $50.00 a week to fill my little tank, I have plenty of time to daydream about various things while waiting for the pump to click “full.”

So I started comparing my cars gas tank with my own physical “tank.“ I was thinking how our bodies are like our cars gas tank, and how sometimes we too run low on fuel – or have empty tanks.

When our car run's out of gas, there is a tremendous amount of anxiety about whether we’ll make it to the station in time, sometimes our car is coughing on fumes alone, and sometimes the tank is empty and the car isn’t going anywhere (sound familiar?).

When our physical tank is out of gas it affects us mentally, emotionally and physically. When we don’t eat right and get the right nutrients in our body, it matters, it affects us. We don’t think clearly, our energy levels are sunk, and sometimes we feel we’re existing on fumes alone.

And even though we’re offered three grades of gasoline at the pump, we typically go with the cheapest and just put Regular in and get on with our day. Think about how many times you are offered better, quality food options (in restaurants, at home, or grocery stores) and for various reasons continue to do the same old Regular thing and get on with your day.

Then I started thinking about the difference and importance of putting “Premium” gas into our tanks (our belly‘s), and fuel our system (our body) in healthy and sustaining ways and yet we don’t often make those right choices on a daily basis.

Afterall, when you think about premium gas for a car you think about how it is typically formulated for high-end vehicles in order for those cars to get maximum performance. When is the last time you thought of yourself as a high-end car? Or that you’re getting maximum performance with the substances you’re putting into your system?

Then, I started thinking (I told you, I have a few minutes to daydream at the pump) how a race horse, an athlete, or a Mercedes Benz all require high grade fuel for high quality performance, and the trainer, coach or mechanic would not dream of suggesting putting anything but the best top notch fuel into the tank of their star “performer.”

As I pulled away with a full tank and an empty wallet I was surprisingly encouraged by my own analogy of my cars gas tank and my own physical gas tank and was reminded that I’m important enough to put the best fuel I can into ME.

I encourage you to put the very best fuel (food) into your tank this week and hey, if it help’s to think of yourself as a race horse, athlete, or a Mercedes Benz then you have my permission to do so because I want you to give yourself the right kind of “gas.”

One Response to Fueling and Feeding Your Body

It’s a great analogy to use a car as our bodies and the gas as our fuel. It’s so true. We put so much more care into our cars than we do ourselves. We get our oil changed every 3 or 4 months, yet we rarely make it to a yearly physical! I am trying to serve my family the “premium” fuel but sometimes time and money make me settle with “regular”, but at least I’m trying! Thanks for a great post! ~ Suerae